Patient-specific 3D printed Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) dental implant system.

Abstract

Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF)-based 3D printing is an efficient technique for developing medical implants, but it is not very useful in developing small yet mechanically robust design-specific fixtures such as dental implants (<15 mm). Specifically, it is challenging to 3D print robust Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) small implants due to PEEK's high melting temperature and melt viscosity. However, in this study, we efficiently utilize high-temperature FFF to develop the first-of-its-kind patient-specific robust PEEK dental implants with high print resolution. Specifically, we explore the effects of critical FFF processing conditions on the mechanical properties of the implants and subsequently determine an optimized set of processing conditions that are essential in developing durable dental implant systems. Our results indicate that the 3D printed dental implants exhibit good fatigue properties and suffice the clinical and industrial requirements for dental implants. Furthermore, we prove that the 3D printed implants exhibit adequate mechanical durability even after simulated (accelerated) aging of 30 years.